


boys will cry (boys will be boys)

by cowboyhatcat



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Comfort/Angst, Coming Out, Crying, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, M/M, all the angst tags, and summaries, anyway no new tags to add. except;, i try to make something i would like, i'll update tags each chapter !, if u squint, pls just read it :', still not beta read we continue to die like the phantoms, that's literally the only consideration, the lukealex in ch2 is way vaguer than i intended lol, the target audience is me, trans!luke, yea no i suck at tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 21:27:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27873033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cowboyhatcat/pseuds/cowboyhatcat
Summary: alex cut luke's hair three (notable) times.the first time alex cut luke's hair was in '94.the second time alex cut luke's hair was in march of '95.the third (and last) time alex cut lukes hair was a few months later, over the summer.
Relationships: Alex/Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 52





	1. you better believe!!!

**Author's Note:**

> title from declan mckenna's be an astronaut + chapter titles are songs from his album zeros ! theyre not rly relevant to the story i've just been listening to that album on loop while writing this

alex cut luke's hair three (notable) times.  
  
the first time was in early '94.

so far, bobby and alex were the only ones who could drive. usually one of them would drive everyone from school to the studio at alex's house, then luke and reggie would walk home. but it was raining that day, so after practice ended bobby offered to drive them home. reggie absentmindedly said, "sure," from where he was packing up. but before luke could respond, alex said "hey, luke, can i talk to you, actually?"

luke looked to bobby and reggie, who just shrugged. "uh, sure. will it take long?"

"i'll drive you home."

"alright."

after a few mumbled see you later, see ya, byes it was just the two of them left in the studio. luke got up from where he had been packing stuff up to sit on the couch. "so, you wanted to talk to me?" he looked at alex expectantly, on edge. alex moved to sit next to him.

"yeah." alex drummed his fingers on his knee. "i just- i wanted to check in. is everything okay? at home?"

luke's brief pause was answer enough. but he said, "yeah, man. everything's fine."

"you sure? you just seemed kinda off, today. not your usual, high energy self."

"it's nothing. can we just drop it?"

and alex - he didn't want to _push,_ no. but it clearly wasn't _nothing_ , and he just wanted luke to know he didn't have to go through it alone. alex turned, pulling a leg up underneath himself and faced luke squarely. he tried to soften his tone. "alright. i'll drop it. but you know you can tell me anything, whenever, right?"

he could _see_ the moment luke let his guard drop. "yeah, of course. it's just - it's stupid." luke mumbled, drawing his legs up, digging his heels into the sofa.

alex shrugged. "try me."

luke sighed, exasperated. "it's my mom - she'll call me her son, no problem. which is great- she just doesn't want her _son_ in a _rock_ _band_. the band, that's where she draws the line? what the hell? and i'm getting _sick_ of it!"

"i'm sure she just wants the best for you-"

"and i cut my hair." he rushed out.

that wasn't something alex expected.

"what?"

"yeah. i fucked up my hair." he faltered. he let his feet fall back to the ground with a _thump_. "i don't - i don't know why i let it grow out. to prove something to myself? something _stupid_. i don't know, i just did, but i had been getting sick of it. then we fought, about, whatever, and - and, i just needed to do _something_ -"

"hey." alex grabbed luke's wrist. "take a breath." luke paused, met alex's eyes, and almost instantly, all his fight was gone. alex seemed to have that effect on him. but he didn't know where exactly to go from there. he opted for pulling luke into a hug. and that seemed to work, cause he positively melted into it.

after a while of just sitting there, holding each other, listening to the sound of the rain outside, alex mumbled "you know, i'm sure it's not that bad."

"hm?"

"your hair. lemme see."

alex pulled back and got up from the couch, holding out a hand. luke reluctantly grabbed it and let himself be pulled up and dragged into the bathroom, positioned to face the mirror with alex standing behind him. he nodded at luke encouragingly. in one swift motion, he pulled off his beanie and let his gaze fall to the sink. he could feel alex studying him in the mirror.

and his hair was, well, choppy. unmistakably done impulsively by a teenager. but not awful, and alex said as much. "hey, what did i say? not that bad." he nudged luke's shoulder. "look at me." he did. "do you want me to try cleaning it up?"

"you can do that?"

alex shrugged. "ive seen my mom do it plenty of times. and i doubt i can make it worse."

"hey!"

"kidding. or i can just drive you to a barber, or something."

luke took a moment, weighing his options. "...no, i wanna trust you. don't fuck it up."

alex smiled and pat luke's shoulder, leaving to get a stool and pair of scissors.

once they got settled, they fell into easy conversation. at some point, luke said "hey, do you think cheri from math would like me? ...mess and all?"

alex paused. "man, don't ask me. i don't know shit about girls."

"fair. me neither."

a moment passed. 

"i don't really like girls like that, anyway."

now it was luke's turn to pause. he stared up at alex in the mirror, expression unreadable. once he noticed how nervous alex looked, he twisted around to face him properly.

"hey!-" alex protested, pulling back the scissors.

"hey! hey. look at me." luke grabbed at alex's wrists, pulling them down to his sides. he relaxed. "it's cool. we can tell each other anything, right?"

"yeah."

"yeah."

luke pulled alex into a hug, pressing his face to his chest. alex froze, but only a second before reaching forward to put the scissors on the sink, then returned the hug, resting his head on lukes. "by the way, i'm sure there is _someone_ out there that'll like you, mess and all."

luke laughed. "thanks. and i'm sure there's a cute boy somewhere out there for you." he paused. "if you want that."

alex smiled. "yeah, no, i do. thanks."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> oh to safely get a haircut & hug :'(


	2. scrawny mf w/ a cool hairstyle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the second time alex cut luke's hair was in march of '95; it'd been about 3 months since he ran out, and he was well overdue for one. after days of pestering, he gave in and let alex set up in the bathroom of the garage.  
> or:  
> sad boys are sad and hug andcr y an d get haircut :')

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello my beloveds! i am so sorry it took me two and a half months to get out the second chapter! and that it's not v long! i kinda just ,, lost motivation ,, but it was revived by teenage angst & the urge to project and mischaracterize the boys! so, enjoy :)  
> rip to the declan mckenna zeroes album songs for chapter titles theme. this chapter's title is a lyric from wallows' scrawny. yes luke is the furthest thing from scrawny but its abt the Vibes  
> lastly iam so scared of rereading my own writing so sorry if my writing style/characterization of the boys is noticeably different from the prev chapter lol

the second time alex cut luke's hair was in march of '95; it'd been about 3 months since he ran out, and he was well overdue for one. after days of pestering, he gave in and let alex set up in the bathroom of the garage.

after a while spent in a comfortable silence, luke said "i love her." and it came out level. but he looked like he was a million miles away, staring at himself in the mirror. alex just nodded and kept cutting his hair. "and i miss her so fucking much." his voice broke, and there it was.

"yeah, i know." alex responded softly, resting his free hand on luke's shoulders, meeting his eyes in the mirror. "i know."

"sorry." was the next thing luke said, after what felt like ages, but was probably just a few seconds.

"for what?"

"for - i dunno. putting this on you. im not the only one going through anything."

alex thought this over for a second, choosing his next words carefully. "you're right. you're not the only one going through anything. but that doesn't mean you have to go through it alone." then he set down the scissors, and walked around to crouch in front of luke. "you don't have to go through anything alone. you know that, right?" luke wouldn't look at him, but he nodded. then alex pulled him into a hug, and he hugged back just as tight. can you say _i love you_ without saying anything at all? alex did his best.

he doesn't know how long they had been there, but at one point, luke started to shake. he was crying. luke _never_ cried. shit. so alex said an "i love you," and kissed the side of his face, and luke let go first.

he took a deep breath, running his hands over his face, and studied himself in the mirror again. alex got up and stood next to him. "now, can i go back to cleaning up this mess?" he asked gently, placing a hand on luke's shoulder, then ran it up his neck and through his hair. luke laughed lightly, and grabbed his hand, squeezing it once, before dropping it. "yeah. thanks. i love you too."

"of course."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope u enjoyed this lil dose of hurt/comfort <3 i did NOT mean for this chapter to come out the same month luke GOT the haircut wow oops. anyway. i actually already wrote the third chapter, i had just dreaded writing this one, so ,, i promise the next + final update won't take as long :')

**Author's Note:**

> psa google told me u should NOT cut ur hair w/ any old scissors, but these boys r idiots (as am i) so .. they dont know that. just. dont do that. k hope u enjoyed <3  
> say hi 2 me on tumblr if u would like :) @reggiepetersphantom


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